The unions give Labour the edge in the donations race

Labour received £3m between July and September, 82 per cent of which came from trade unions.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, whose union accounted for 26 per cent (£791,281) of all donations to Labour between July and September. Photograph: Getty Images.

The latest political donation figures are out and they reveal that Labour raised more money than any other party between July and September. Excluding public funds, Ed Miliband's party received £3,011,858, compared to £2,613,496 for the Tories, and £578,087 for the Lib Dems.

Once again, it was the trade unions that gave Labour the edge, accounting for 82 per cent (£2,470,908) of all donations to the party, with the largest union, Unite, responsible for 26 per cent (£791,281). Back in 1994, when Tony Blair became Labour leader, the unions accounted for just a third of Labour's annual income, but the party has become increasingly dependent on them as private donations have fallen.

While there is no comparison between the unions and the big-money donors the Tories rely on, some in Labour are rightly questioning whether it is healthy for the party to be so dependent on a few sources of income. With Labour refusing to pledge to reverse any of the coalition's spending cuts and supporting George Osborne's public sector pay freeze, one also expects that some in the union movement will begin to ask whether they are getting value for money.

The Tories' largest donor was City financier and Tory co-treasurer Michael Farmer, who gave £525,560 to the party, followed by Stanley Fink, the "godfather" of the hedge fund industry and the man who replaced Peter Cruddas as the party's principal treasurer in March, who donated £151,900.